The Shade Anecdotes
by Deathlark
Summary: What is Shade? That nice feeling on a hot day when you lie under a tree? Or just a place to avoid the blinding light of the sun? In Valoran though, Shade holds a different meaning. It speaks of one man, who bears a non-existing aura of shade around him. Shade may be a strong man, but an unusual and alien force haunts him and speaks of destruction for him- and all of Valoran.
1. Prologue

The Shade Anecdotes: League of Legends Fanfiction by Deathlark. Prologue.

Autha's Note: Helloooooo. Welcome. WELCOME. HEHEHEHE. No. Just kidding. It's not like that.

Anyhow, this is just a simple teaser/premise that will make NO SENSE TO ANYONE, because I took the pain of writing it in Latin to confuse you all. (Don't worry, I still love ya) Anyhow, over this Prologue this little passage will be translated sentence by sentence.

Otherwise, this is a prologue since the individual chapters I wanted to make didn't cut it by 's standards, so I just said "SCREW IT" made the prologue shorter and as one thing.

Now then, this story revolves around a character from my mind. Don't be confused, this is an OC that I'm making that will tie into the world of Valoran. It's going to be divided into 4 parts that I will work on overtime, without counting the prologue. Nothing else to talk about. Enjoy the prologue! (If anyone can translate the passage I'm impressed since it's probably not 100% accurate (do you even latin?(huehuehue wtf deathlark)))

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to league of legends. I am not phranq.**

…

_Sub arboribus et sub t__ōtō tectō jacet quod sol tāngerē nōn potest, ut inopia lucis vestigium relinquit. Vestigium obscurius prodigiosius genus conspectūs est. Quod liberōs terret et quod virōs occaecat, et quod populous videt ubi oculōs permit callidam potestatem tenet. Itaque maledictum conspectum in ūnum prō ignotīs causīs mortem, tyrannidem, furorem, et potestatem gerit solūm prō fabricatore, et dolorem, desperationem, defectionem, et tabem prō receptore. Nam vir maledictus tenebrīs visibilis iam oritur; Shade advēnīt._

…

It was a rainy night in an unknown land, quite civilized, but quite in turmoil. The thunder gales howled in the nightly rain, signifying that this rain would soon turn to an unruly storm. The inferior creatures fled to their caves and the predators rested in content and not wanting to risk death against the upcoming storm.

In this land, humans and magicians and warriors populate the every corner of the continent, and a little bit more too. However do not mistake this land for Valoran. Oh no, this is not Valoran.

This is the great faraway land of Myriam. No one has ever remembered what this great land is like, but it is not all too different from Valoran.

Anyhow, in one of the great cities of Myriam, the current weather was a heavy rain. It would soon turn to a storm as the thunder gales predicted. There was something a little more unusual with this night. The council of this city was at a meeting.

The organization of this city was based off of families. The levels of society were… clear. The inside of the city housed the largest and greatest towers, peaking to the clouds. Not far outside the center corruption was heavily prevalent. Most houses and towers reached no more than 2 stories in the outskirts of this city.

The name of this city? Not important. However what should be known is that these wealthy families aggregated a society separate from the city on its own. To assure equality, the heads of this city organized a council where the leads of the families would meet. A great building, peaking above even the highest towers of the wealthy families, was created where all the families' leaders would meet and negotiate certain issues, only when necessary.

The concern of this meeting made this meeting the most crucial meeting ever held in the city. War was near between this city and another, and power was needed following the recent defeat against the second city. There was a high demand for a draft from the wealthy families, as their children and family would have no fear to go to war, proud to serve their city.

The lesser families? Not so much. Their small families mean it would be empty and hard to function with a member out to war. Not only this, but they are not as highly loyal to their city as the wealthy men are. So the council meeting today was heated.

"Mr. Harrier, please! We know you and your son are the only remnants of your family, but you're already held up for a court offense!" the father of the GeWitt family exclaimed.

"I'll have you know I am fully capable of proving myself innocent! Therefore I would have no need to try and appease my charges by joining the military, nor will my son!" Mr. Harrier argued. The GeWitt family was one of the few families desiring a draft that was still poor. GeWitt and Harrier had been arguing for hours at this point.

"You can cover for your son, but we know you're too broke to afford a decent lawyer. After all, you are a former soldier and I know how excellent your skills with an axe are," another man, noted.

This was just part of the heat. Many families were arguing with each other. Some had appeased and already said they would join the army regardless to avoid the chaos tonight. Most were poor families, however a few honorable families had already agreed a long time ago to avoid the chaos. Families like the DeLoite family, Urvstead family, and Graec family all are sending their sons to war, covering the demand for one member of the family to go. A part of the draft says that only one member per family need apply to fill their role.

As for now the rage and arguments against families continued. The rainy night continued as the thunder gales continued to howl. The clouds blocked the normal starry skyline, which many in the city pray to for good luck. The thunder could be heard off in the distance.

…

"Shae! Shae, where are you Shae? Where is Parry too?" a woman called off.

"I'm right here mom," a young man said back. He was lean and skinny. "What is it?"

"Where is Parry? I need to see her. We have company soon," the woman said.

"I think she's in her room. Just dressing herself," the man Shae said back.

"Okay, thank you honey." The woman left and dashed to the stairs in the center of the house. The four family members of this house were Shae, Parry, Lietta, and Gevall. They were expecting company, invited by the father, Gevall.

Shae sat down and read a book, until there was a knock on the door. He was in a traditional black dress. He opened up the door to see two gentleman in two black coats. They appeared soaked by the intense rain.

"Hello, is your father here young man?" one of the men asked.

"No, he is out at the groceries but he will be back soon. Please come in. We have been expecting company," Shae responded.

"Ah good, we were invited by your father. Thank you," they replied, and came in, hanging up their coats on the nearby coat rack. One man had a large backpack and the other carried a bag in his hands. They laid it down next to their coats.

"What are you here for?" Shae asked, looking at their suitcases.

"Science my friend. Science." The answer was vague, but Shae was taught to be respective, and thus bowed, as they headed for the stairway. He looked out the window bleakly, through the rain spattered window as a man appeared in the distance. He recognized the frame and shape of him as his father. A smile crossed his face.

He waited eagerly at the doorstep waiting to greet him. He was always taught to be a gentleman, and held great respect for his father. As his father opened the door, he greeted him, and saying, "Hello father. How are you?" He looked after bowing to him, only to realize that his father's nice and wise face was sagging and tired, with a dark frown on his face. "What's wrong?"

…

_Underneath trees and beneath every roof lies what the sun cannot touch, as the lack of light leaves a trail._

…

Not too far from this city was the mountain range of Myriam. The mountain ranges of Valoran are already treacherous enough, with the few spiraling high peaks such as Mount Gargantuan or Mount Targon. The only safe way from northern Valoran to the southern Valoran is through the Mogron Pass, or Proving Grounds, a bridge running over a great chasm in the Great Barrier.

Myriam's terrain was less subtle. Certain lowlands ran miles below the sea level, and were the most unstable terrain. At the same time, the Mountain Ranges of Myriam far outclassed those of Valoran, with Mount Gargantuan not even coming close the size of the smallest peaks of Myriam. The greatest mountain of them all was… um… well, I guess like all this stuff, the name isn't important right? But for figurativeness, no one had ever seen the top of the mountain, let alone halfway up the slopes of it. This mountain was centered in the middle of Myriam.

From atop this great slope one stream went from somewhere up the titan and all the way down to a river which ran to the ocean. In one lowland, a small stream bridging off from this mainland river leeched into a lowland. Not the lowest lowland, but noticeably below sea level. The stream was not large enough, and only beckoned to the lowland in high tide. This resulted in only puddles of rich, fertile, water, optimal for starting farms. The lowland was colonized quickly, at the base of this great Mountain.

With this advantage, the people that settled in this lowland became amongst the richest and highest profiled people in all of Myriam. The water seemed nearly enchanted, with gleaming auras and slight illumination in puddles. The water grew crops faster than normal water, kept people healthier, and was said to bring good fortune.

This made the valley frequently invaded and settled in. On one side, a large plateau-forest, and on the other a great mountain. Eventually, one generation of people knew that this land must be held on their own and needs fortification. They built a great wall of brick enriched by their water to hold off the invaders. Triumphantly, the wall held and was immune to any magic that was used against it.

With this advantage, the settlers armed and geared for war, making sure to assert their dominance over all others. They imbued their weapons and armor with the water they so treasured, and triumphantly charged.

On the other side of the wall, an enormous army of men charged over the wall, jumping through trees and striking from above. Thousands of men died that day, with the rumors saying not a single soldier of the settlers' dying. It was a great day, and from there that valley prospered without interruption.

The stream continued to run down safely, and one day they decided to terraform the ground and create a dam. It was a massive success, and they claimed the land as their own, extending their walls to surround the dam and claim it for their own. They were the first ever group of people to ever settle onto the mountain and obtain use. With this advantage, they mined into the mountain and obtained such valuable materials and minerals to enrich their items. Soon enough, they found that they could convert these minerals into techmaturgic sources and they had significance in many different arcane arts.

The rest of Myriam was jealous and swore to invade and claim the dam as a shared resource for everyone, and perhaps eradicating the original settlers. The river unusually contained no special resources unlike the mystical water of these lowland people.

And thus a group of missionaries traveled as high up the slopes to find the source of wherever this water stream originated. It was a perilous mission, and many died. However, a small group of three managed to locate the source of the water, pouring out from a hole in the mountain. When looking in, they saw a magnificent cavern, full of massive crystals and a large lake of water inside, with more water reaching out from underground sources. The minerals deteriorated and branched out into another pocket, where only the stream would deliver the valuables. With this knowledge, they returned to their city in triumph.

With this knowledge, even more important information had been found. A smuggler had obtained some of this magic water and splashed it onto the wall. The impenetrable wall weakened, and the stone crumbled to gravel. This knowledge was spread to the rest of the world, and thus a plan formulated to once and for all open the water to the entire world.

And this is when the storm arrives.

…

_The trail is a darker, more eerie type of sight._

…

He walked in the door a face more grim than his normal calm composure.

"Father, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Up. Stairs. Top floor. Now," he said lifeless. I was confused, but I did not ask. I calmly walked to the top floor.

"Father, you had visitors," I told him.

"Yes I know, they will be accompanying us for some time. For now just get the hell upstairs! Onto the roof! NOW!" he yelled. I did not delay to run upstairs. I relayed the message to everyone on each floor, our maids and servants and my family. I told my mother to rush to the top floor, and mashed on my sister's locked door.

"SIS! DAD SAYS GET TO THE ROOF!" I yelled to her.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as possible," she answered.

Within a few minutes, we had our staff and family on the roof. It was raining, and dad had a tarp hung over the roof. There was wind blowing quite strong. Our father told us to watch the mountain. His voice was more devoid of life than I have ever heard it.

"Father what's going on?" my sister asked.

"Our reckoning is coming… And we must escape," he answered. My father took out a large horn, and blew into it as loud as he could. We were lucky enough to own a Caller Horn, which we could use to call Carrion-type Birds to carry people from place to place.

Not long afterwards, a Hurro-Carrion Bird came and whisked everyone aboard its back. The bird was resistant to rain, and ours was among the largest of all Carrion birds.

We flew high up and saw a few other Hurro-Carrion birds in the sky. Soon, the entire sky was flocked with the birds, wailing and calling to each other. And the first lightning bolt struck then.

Suddenly, one of the birds started to plummet from the sky and hit another bird on its way down. They both started to fall to the ground in fright.

The other birds started to wild. They flew around frantically, some smashing into each other in pure chaos. Soon, the numbers of the Hurro-Carrions started to dwindle. My father knew he had to get out of the chaos, and so he flew elsewhere, relatively over the dam. Another bolt struck elsewhere, slamming into the ground on the mountain.

Dad had made sure to buy a horn to call a more noble bird, one that was not so easily scared by thunder. He kept flying elsewhere. For the meanwhile, everyone held onto the great feathers of the bird.

I looked downwards, and realized that a whole river had gone down and destroyed the walls of the damn, and was flooding into our city. This is what dad was expecting, as well as all the others…

Lightning continued to dent the landscape as our bird continued to fly away. The wind brushed my hair and the water stung my skin.

And then like a judgment from god, a bolt struck our bird, giving us a total shock. The bird screeched and started to fall downwards, but tried its best to steady itself. Many of our servants were flying off, and all I could do is watch them. Before I knew it, we started to decline.

The descent of our bird was fast; he was doing his best to try and be able to pick itself up, but it could not do anything.

As he fell to the ground, only 6 people remained; my family and the two men that had come to our house. The bird was out-cold on the ground. We all looked at each other in shock.

It was not over just yet though.

…

_What scares children and what blinds men, and what people see when they close their eyes harnesses a clever power._

…

The wind grazed the man's scarf as he and two others next to him walked towards a large hill, with fiery smoke emerging from the top. It had come to attention to Jericho Swain that a "star" had fallen from the sky in the boundaries of Noxus. Curious, he invited a few adversaries. He brought along General Du Couteau's daughter, Katarina, and the man named Talon, a masterful assassin. The others soon had their sight on the massive hill's plume of smoke.

"What… is that?" Talon asked. It was unusual for Talon to show complexion or confusion, though this sight was more than enough. Katarina watched in awe.

"We're finding out," Swain replied.

The three strode triumphantly into a tiny farming village, not acknowledging the farmers. They watched as the three people strode by.

They continued to the hill which had numerous people watching from a nearby smaller hill. Swain stopped briefly, and asked, "Does anyone have any more information about what happened?" There was a small silence amongst the crowd with the question, until one boy came up to him.

"The rumor that this hill says that an old, old, cranky man lived in a house there and never let anyone in. For his rudeness people say the gods shunned and imprisoned him, and now it remains as a place never to go," he explained. Swain nodded.

"Thank you, young lad. Move!" Swain shouted, and the crowd in front of him parted ways as Swain undauntedly approached the house.

Once there, the three of them entered, and realized that only the exterior of the house was burning. If you were inside, you would not even know that there was a fire.

The contents of the house remained untarnished with dust and cobwebs littered all over them. Swain and Katarina inspected as Talon felt like an ominous presence was still in the house.

"Swain… My instincts are catching me," Talon muttered.

"Quiet Talon. Your instincts may not be as sharp as you think," Swain replied. Katarina knew Talon better, and knows that when Talon starts to act up through instincts, something must be here or watching. Katarina started to look around the house rather than inspect now, as if something were to be found in the floorboards and emptiness of the roof.

They moved to the living room, and were stunned by the scene. Drawings and markings littered the room, but more importantly a man stood in the middle. He was muttering nonsense to the three of them.

"You there. Do you even now this house is burning?" Swain asked.

"Of course… Can't you smell the ashes?" he replied back in an ominous voice. It brought a chill down Swain's spine. Something not easy to do.

"Who are you?" Swain asked demandedly.

"I am no one. To you at least. However I will say one thing… Valoran is in more danger than you'd expect." This perplexed Swain.

"What are you talking about? What danger?"

"It will come like a shunning from the gods… An imprisonment if you will… but not now. Oh not now. It will be much, much later… You will see… You'll see…" The man remained there, and seemed to fade into nothing, as with him, all the drawings faded. Confused and worried, the three left the house, and walked outside to see the fire had stopped.

The three of them never spoke of the experience. This was a just 3 months before the League of Legends was formed in Valoran. Eventually, as all effort moved towards that, so did Noxus. But the secret remains kept by the three of these people. And they dare not say a word of it.

…

_And so a curse beheld on one for unknown reasons bears death, tyranny, and madness only for the maker, and suffering, despair, exhaustion, and decay for the receiver._

…

From there… I don't fully remember what actually happened. My memory started to cut here and there. I remembered certain parts and forgot others.

I do know that we escaped to… somewhere…

We tried to restart but were caught out as… miscreants… from _that _city. We were sent to prison, except for the other two men. Although looking through, it seemed as they were talking casually… to the prison guards… As if they knew them.

My memory cut afterwards for some time. The next thing I remembered was being in a separate room as I saw my sister being dragged out the door of the prison hall, with her kicking and screaming. My parents were yelling and begging for her return. I had undergone some sort of spell, for I could not talk. I was confused and frustrated at my silence, but I was more curious about what was going on. My memory starts to blink for a bit, as I remember seeing first my mom dragged, then my father, then each of the servants, one by one. I was being saved for last, but for reasons I did not understand.

Instead, I was kept in this cell for weeks. I lost track of the time, but this silencing spell was stopped from there. I vaguely remember having to scream and yell to get attention. The guards were awfully inattentive… shameful.

I was building up an awfully strong hatred. I was becoming begrudged to all those that checked on me, as I remember. My memory then cuts here, and next thing I know I'm strapped to some sort of table, with a few men surrounding me. One was in heavy armor, one in a dense coat, and one with mage robes on.

A stronger silencing spell was on me, one that prevented me from moving. I could still feel the cold hard stone I was on though, so I was still able to sense and touch _some _things. Of course, only the shackles, chains, and stone were actually the only things I could touch. What I remember next was a sharp pain ringing in my ears, preventing me from hearing things. It was unbearable, and I silently screamed to try and help cope. No sound came out.

The agonizing continued as I felt a powerful blast of magic strike my chest and move around. I was momentarily unchained, but an extra spell had rendered me unable to move or retaliate. I was simply flipped over as the ray of magic continued to do its work. I was chained down again, and soon enough the intense beam of magic ceased. My memory faults here.

The next thing I know I'm lying on this stone table with no one around, and no one to help me. I felt strange… Sort of… blank. As if I had been stripped of myself, my soul, my intellect, and simply left here to rot. The night went by with uneasy sleep, and I did not remember myself waking up for a long, long time.

…

_For a man cursed with darkness now appears visible:_

…

I woke up on a sunny shore, soaked to the bone and dressed in a rugged black rag. I sat up and realized something; I had aged. I felt like I had been asleep for a long time, almost in a paradox world where my mind aged as the outside world continued. But… Who was I? And what's going on?

Two women then walked up to me, obviously noticing I was there. They both seemed young.

"Hey! Are you alright?" they asked. I turned my head, and immediately they were shocked by something.

"What? What is it?" I asked with a new, deeper and stronger voice to my tone. I felt powerful.

"W-Who are you?" one woman asked. At this point I forgot my name… Shah? Sheh? Sheh… de… Sha…

Apparently I had been thinking aloud too.

"Sha-deh? You mean Shade?" they questioned. It seemed close enough.

"Yes. Shade. Where am I?" I asked, curious of where I was.

"You don't know the name of this _WHOLE _place? Are you dumb or just clueless?" they asked, very sarcastically.

"I'm serious," I said, with a tough commanding tone, rising to my feet. I gave them a more direct look, and they seemed petrified.

"Valoran. It's Valoran."

"Valoran?"

"Yes. This is where you are… Valoran. The nearest place to stay is… Noxus. Although it's not safe. And dangerous."

"Well where is a more suitable place?"

"Well… they were starting that work on the Institute… I guess that's better than Zaun…"

"The Institute…? Hmm… Please, tell me where this Institute is."

"It's the Institute of War. If you want to go there you'll need to take a long trip to the west." They pointed in the direction this Institute of War is.

"Thank you." I started to walk off. They didn't respond as I began a long trek, lasting a week.

Although then I saw the great halls and buildings of this Institute. Hundreds of workers were constructing it. I walked by and took sight of the many men. I was still in a black rag and walking, covering my eyes. Along my way there it seems that something about eye contact with me was not pleasuring.

However, I found a man. He was centered in the crowd and giving out orders, handling several things at once. I walked towards him, and he picked me out of the crowd.

"You- you there? Who are you?" he asked. I looked up, hanging the rag so that the eye contact wouldn't catch him by surprise.

"My name? It is Shade. Who are you?" I asked. A silence settled, and everyone was almost speechless. "Let me ask again." I pulled down the hood on my rag. "Who are you?" A large shock came across everyone at the sight of whatever was wrong with me. I don't know what's wrong with a normal human being. The man put down a book, and walked towards me.

"How about a better introduction. My name is Reginald Ashram. It is nice to meet you, Shade." He held out his hand. I shook his hand, and this is where my story begins.

…

_Shade has arrived._

…

Okay, time to work on chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed the prologue. See you all later.

~DTH~


	2. Dawning Dark, Chapter 1, Equilibrium

The Shade Anecdotes: League of Legends Fanfiction by Deathlark. Section: Dawning Dark. Chapter 1, Equilibrium

Awthuz' Neauxt: Hello everybody, back from the dark for another chapter. Now notice the little header here, you'll see "Section: Dawning Dark". As aforementioned, there will be 4 parts to this series, Dawning Dark being the first. So That's part 1.

Otherwise, this is the first chapter of the story, you'll get to know Shade a bit better here, otherwise, have fun.

**Dizclaymurr: I do not own the rights to Leeguh of Lejenz or Ryeet Gaemz. (I do not own the rights to League of Legends or Riot Games)**

…

Many men sat on a desk, talking to their nearby neighbor. Noticeably, certain men wore certain robes. This was to signify from which city-state they stood for. Today was a key Institute Meeting. Noticeably, there were many desks empty. These belonged to the Institute members that would attend the meeting.

The men continued to talk until two of the guards gave a shout, and stomped their spears on the ground. "ATTENTION! PLEASE STAND IN RESPECT!" the guards shouted. Everyone slowly rose out of their seat and respectfully cuffed their hands together. Soon enough, several men entered, but the first one stood out. He was at every meeting.

He was an average tall man who was rather slim for his build. Rather than dressed in the traditional purple and gold summoner cloak, this man wore a black jacket with several gold stripes and slants. His pants were held up by another gold chain, and were a dark black denim. A black cape hovered behind him with every step. This man's features were deep and noticeable, as he had a noticeable tan. His eyes were black, and were heavily shadowed. He had thick brows and eyelashes. His lips were rather cracked and dull. His hair was smoothened on his head, but drew to the left and spiked out slightly in the direction on the back of his head.

He was only known by one name, and that was Shade.

Right after him, the high councilor entered, Heyward Relivash. He was the entire head of the league, and arguably the most powerful person in Valoran. After him, Prince Jarvan IV of Demacia and Jericho Swain of Noxus entered, followed by Caitlyn of Piltover, Zac of Zaun, Miss Fortune of Bilgewater, Ashe, Sejuani, and Lissandra from Freljord, and Irelia from Ionia. Nasus entered to stand guard, as these meetings raise high tensions, and fights have broken out before.

Shade's current role amongst the League is not only enforcer, but adversary to Heyward Relivash, and a common peacekeeper. Most people scarcely hear of him, but those that do most likely know the rumors about him. However, these rumors are more social rather than physical. This is due to Shade also being an accomplished summoner, and, in drastic times, replaces a summoner in the Fields of Justice.

However today was about a rather more trivial topic than normal, but nonetheless, the league gathered the usual attendees to arrange the proper placements. Today was a re-housing of everyone in the entire Institute of War, and nonetheless there was craziness everywhere.

Heyward quickly called out, "Everyone, take your seats." Everyone sat down into their seats and respectively remained quiet. Shade stood.

"As requested for today's seating changes, all summoners and all representatives were to organize which rooming arrangements were to be made at the Institute of War. As understood, not all champions do reside in the Institute, and thus are placed in the reserve rooming wing. Still, they will be assigned a room. Now! Please come and hand your sheets to Mr. Oswald here," Shade explained, pointing to a summoner right at his side.

Soon enough, everyone walked up and handed their papers to the summoner, and went back and took their seats.

"Thank you everyone. I know this was a rather brief meeting but a necessary one at that. Are there any other last remarks?" Shade asked. No one raised a finger. "Good. Au revoir, everyone." Soon enough, the room emptied out as slowly as it filled, until 5 men remained; Shade, Heyward, Mr. Oswald, Nasus, and another summoner.

"Nasus, your room is in the library, as mentioned. This is of course if you aren't Shurima," Mr. Oswald told Nasus. He was in charge of the rooming arrangement along with the other summoner.

"Understood Mr. Heyward. I will be heading to Shurima now," Nasus replied. He walked out of the great meeting room, leaving 4 men.

"Mr. Harvey and I will be creating the rooming arrangements just shortly here, let us decode the papers Harvey," Mr. Oswald explained, and then left with Mr. Harvey. Shade began to walk out before Heyward stopped him.

"Before you go Shade, unlike before you'll have to be roomed with someone. At this point only Oswald and Harvey can decide that, but if you want a specific request you can let them choose for you," Heyward told Shade. Shade pondered the idea for a second, and made up his mind.

"No. I'll let them decide. I can tolerate anyone," Shade responded. Heyward nodded.

"Right then. There is a crystal scar match coming in a bit, so let us go and monitor it. You do not have anything to do right now, yes?" Heyward asked.

"No. I haven't seen a crystal scar match in a while, it gets boring watching similar things on summoner's rift. The action is at the crystal scar," Shade said with a smile. The two men walked off towards the heart of the Institute.

…

The sun glinted brightly on the green rune marking on the broken sword. The sword was lying flat on its back, allowing for the bright afternoon sun to shine on it. The tattered steel still had some shine to it and reflected brightly in the sunlight. Next to the sword a young woman sat aside it. Its wielder, Riven, knew that a match was coming soon. She was simply sitting there, waiting to see if she would be chosen for the match.

After a few good minutes, she knew that she was not chosen. She sighed, got up, and walked towards the Institute.

While Riven was a Noxian, after her exile she found herself not too fond of the purpose she once served valiantly. Thus, she joined the Institute of War as a freelance champion, much like Twisted Fate and some others who would serve any purpose regardless. Some complications occur when, well, say a Demacian summoner summoned a Noxian champion. That would cause a bit of strife between the summoners… plus a Demacian summoner would be against summoning a Noxian.

Thus she traveled from land to land on a "personal" journey. No one quite knows what it was for, but Riven states that it was about finding what purpose she _had _served, rather than what she thought she served. People accepted her answer.

Once she had finished her journey she came to reside at the Institute for the peace of the area. She found it very helpful and relaxing, and was able to meet and get along with many others in the league. As a champion in the League she was treated with high respect.

However, she was rarely approached. In the dining hall nearby tables went silent as Riven walked by. They would soon pick up in conversation after Riven shortly moved away, but it seems her presence was some sort of bad omen to those around her. Personally, it aggravated her.

She's tried her best to seem more sociable and tried to lessen the burden of her past, but it seems to be of no aid to her.

No one else knows too much about her. She seems to keep her life secret. As a little gift of appreciation for some help she lent to the housing director of the league, Dewey Oswald, he gave her a single room that no one else would be housed in.

Though that's changing now. Due to more recruited summoners, and a current lack of suitable housing for _everyone _in the Institute, the Institute has to fit two people into a room, some even more. Riven does not like these changes.

She's a little irritated about it and requested to find an outside housing for her, to no avail. The lands around the Institute are heavily structured and occupied by many others, usually by outsiders.

Riven again tried to see if she could organize someone to room with, perhaps one of her friends, but the men in charge of housing said that they cannot assign specific rooms/roommates for champions; only for the highest of officials.

Furious, Riven left for a bit to blow steam off in the plains right outside the Institute. A match was going to take place soon, so Riven also knew that she could be brought into the Fields of War on a moment's notice. However, this was one of the last matches before the Solstice Break occurred. The Solstice is a very important time in Valoran, religiously and agriculturally.

Now all Riven could do is wait while the Solstice Break took place. The Institute was very unusual during the Solstice Break. Most summoners and others head to their homelands during the break, leaving the Institute almost barren with anyone but those that dedicate their lives to the Institute. Riven would head to Noxus for the break during this time. Not so much to the heartland of Noxus, but more on the outskirts of Noxus.

Riven would head out tomorrow, since tonight was the last night she would have a room to herself at the Institute. She briskly walked back towards the Institute while the wind blew her hair back. She buckled her sword to her back, and walked off, a little disheartened, feeling empty inside.

…

Shade was the highest elite of the Institute. He is extremely skilled in virtually every kind of every kind of fighting style, excluding a few reserved kinds (like wuju style or hiten style). As for magic, he has difficulty using spells and generally does not practice arcane arts. To sum it up, Shade is the strongest soldier of the Institute, outclassing all the sentries and mages of the Institute.

As far as fighting actual other champions goes, Shade struggles. Since he is not very adept in anything arcane, he has trouble amplifying his fighting. Even people like Lee Sin and Fiora are very skilled in various kinds of magic, as several thousands, and perhaps more, different kinds of magic exist in the world.

Thus Shade decides to not get heavily involved in the champion-based affairs of Valoran, and prefers to stay passive amongst all of them.

Regarding that, Shade is not anti-social. He is very good friends with many Institute officials, notably a good friend of his is Heyward Relivash. Originally Shade was the first Institute director's right hand man. The first director was Reginald Ashram, who Shade met during the construction of the Institute, and helped solidify the Institute and organize it. Shade assisted in Ashram's affairs until he disappeared, in which Relivash gained control. It was not long before the two met, and quickly made friends.

As far as champions go, Shade never gets to speak with many of them frequently but has met each one by and by. Thus, he has made very few friends with the champions of the league. Viktor, Zed, Leona, Vayne, Darius, Olaf, Wukong, Talon, and LeBlanc are Shade's pool of friends that are champions in the League. While it's noted that most his friends aren't exactly the people's interpretation of "bright" champions, Shade still gets along with all of them quite well. After all, the Institution is not aligned with any specific area of Valoran, and act independently of all the city-states and groups, and Shade reflects that attitude.

Nonetheless, some of these friendships have alerted others in positive and negative ways. Demacia heavily looks into Shade's activities and the Kinkou are often making sure Shade is not disrupting the balance. Nothing suspicious has shown up for either of them.

Being the 2nd highest executive of the Institute, Shade is frequently busy. Since the Solstice Break starts tomorrow, Shade is going to be hard at work at the Institute with renovations and organization of housing.

However, Shade was watching the current match. It was a simple training match for some of the summoners, so there was no specific division in the champion pool. For this match in the crystal scar, the Blue Team was made of Jarvan IV, Aatrox, Rengar, Brand, and Lee Sin. The Purple Team was made of Garen, Jax, Akali, Zac, and Swain.

It was rather intense. The match was constantly decided by who won the top side skirmishes, and there was almost never a top winner, but the Blue Team seemed to have a stronger control. The nexus energy was 112:64. A skirmish at top broke out, right on top of the point.

Right in the middle of it though, Shade realized something. There was no noise, no action from Heyward. He looked into the viewing portal and saw that the action had stopped. Time was frozen still.

Shade was confused, and got up to investigate. He waved his hands in front of Heyward. Still no reaction. He touched his forehead, and a powerful shockwave shot out from doing so, knocking Shade back. He was confused about what was going on. He looked around for a clue, but time was frozen still.

"What's going on here!?" Shade yelled, expecting an answer. The sound of his voice reverberated through the halls of the complex, until the echo faded off into the distance.

"You must be so tired… Shade… after your journey…" a voice called to Shade.

"Who's there!?" Shade yelled, and drew his cutlass. It was his favorite sword.

"How could you not recognize this voice…? Shade…" Shade was feeling light-headed. He was not sure if it was a distortion or something yanking him away from reality, but he felt himself slipping away from something. "Shade…! SHADE…!" Shade fell cold on the ground.

…

"We lost him."

"Oh well. We'll break through to him soon enough."

"That doesn't mean he'll return."

"Please, you do not know anything. This land he's in, Valoran, is nothing like Myriam. All you have to do is tip the scales in the favor of one thing and then all hell breaks loose."

"I'm surprised it hasn't broken then."

"Yes, it hasn't, thanks to this 'Institute of War'. The powerful forces of that land, Demacia and Noxus, were dangerously close to starting a war of catastrophic proportions. So a group of people settled the conflict and began to build up an Institute. Hm… I'll put it this way." The man took out a scale from his desk. He placed it on the pedestal. He placed a golden rock and a black rock across from each other.

"These rocks weigh the same so thus the scale does not tip either way. However, a simple fiber, or grain of anything, is enough to break the equilibrium. So, what do you do to stop it? You place a weight in the middle." He took out a heavy square weight and placed it on the center of the scale. "With this weight, security is assured, and there is no chance of destruction. Just watch." He placed two smaller rocks on the golden side. No change. He took another rock and placed it on the black side. Still no change.

"So tell me, what do you do if you want to _break _the equilibrium?"

"Remove… the centerpiece…"

"Exactly."

…

Sadly, this is all I'm going to do for chapter one. As of right now I want to leave it there to not involve myself into the next part of the story, as I have other stories to write on. Alas, it may be awhile before I can write chapter 2, since I have to make a massive chapter for another story, but I promise I will return, and with a longer chapter.

I hope you enjoyed the story. Peace.

~DTH~


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